Fractal Generator

A Python script for generating fractal images.

Fractal created with this script

Setup

To set up the required Python libraries, run the setup.sh script:

This script detects your operating system and installs the necessary Python libraries (numpy, joblib, matplotlib, opencv) using the appropriate package manager (apt for Linux, brew for macOS).

If you're using Windows, please ensure that you have Python installed and install the required libraries (numpy, joblib, matplotlib, opencv-python) manually using pip.

Parameters

You can adjust the following parameters in the fractal.py file to customize the fractal image:

• c_real: The real part of the complex constant defining the Julia set. See coefficients.
• c_imag: The imaginary part of the complex constant defining the Julia set. See coefficients.
• colormap_name: The name of the colormap used for coloring the fractal. You can change this to any valid colormap name available in Matplotlib. Available color palettes
• iterations: The maximum number of iterations for determining if a point belongs to the fractal. NOTE: This does not seem to have any real effect on the output image from my tests, I typically keep it ~1000
• size: The size of the generated image in pixels. The image will be square with dimensions size x size. Depending on PC specs, anything over 2000 can take quite a while. I've found that 2000 seems to be the "sweet spot" of high resolution without taking forever.
• contrast: Set between 0 and 1. Adjusts the contrast of the colors in the fractal image.

Play with c_real and c_imag to change the shapes of your fractals

Color Palettes

The colormap_name parameter in the fractal.py file allows you to choose from various color palettes to colorize the generated fractal images. You can select from the following categories:

Diverging

• Options: PiYG, PRGn, BrBG, PuOr, RdGy, RdBu, RdYlBu, RdYlGn, Spectral, coolwarm, bwr, seismic

Perceptually Uniform Sequential

• Options: viridis, plasma, inferno, magma, cividis

Sequential

• Options: Greys, Purples, Blues, Greens, Oranges, Reds, YlOrBr, YlOrRd, OrRd, PuRd, RdPu, BuPu, GnBu, PuBu, YlGnBu, PuBuGn, BuGn, YlGn

Sequential (2)

• Options: binary, gist_yarg, gist_gray, gray, bone, pink, spring, summer, autumn, winter, cool, Wistia, hot, afmhot, gist_heat, copper

More info and visualizations from matplotlib

Coefficients

The c_real and c_imag parameters in the fractal.py file define the real and imaginary parts of the complex constant (c) used to generate the Julia set. You can experiment with different coefficients to explore various Julia sets. Here are a few examples of coefficients:

• ( −0.70176 + 0.3842i )
• ( −0.4 + 0.6i )
• ( −0.8 + 0.156i )
• ( 0.355 + 0.355i )
• ( −0.835 − 0.2321i )
• More found here, and here.

Usage

1. Modify the parameters of the fractal in the fractal.py file according to your preferences. You can also adjust the Julia function under the demJulia method as follows:

   def demJulia(p, dp, z, K, R, overflow):
       zk, dk = z, 1

   zk represents the julia function

2. Run the fractal.py script:

   python3 fractal.py

This will generate the fractal image based on the parameters you've set and put it into the fractal_images folder.

Happy fractaling!

Acknowledgements

The content of this repository is heavily inspired by the article "Intro to Drawing Fractals with Python" by kuco23.

Please check out the original article for more detailed explanations and insights into fractal generation using Python.